KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): The FBM KLCI remained in the red as local punters stayed uninspired and sellers outran buyers in the morning session.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 2.20 points to 1,773.67.

Losers led gainers by 444 to 364, while 377 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.05 billion shares valued at RM1.12 billion.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, CAB Cakaran Corporation Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Tasek Corporation Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd and JHM Consolidation Bhd.

The actives included Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, Globaltec Formation Bhd, Iris Corporation Bhd, JAG Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The gainers included Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd, Hengyuang Refining Company Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Malaysia smelting Corporation Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd and Globetronics Technology Bhd.

Asian stocks were resilient on Monday, edging up to a two-year high after shaking off threats posed by a ransomware attack that locked up more than 200,000 computers in over 150 countries, a missile test by North Korea and weak US data, according to Reuters.

The yen and gold, which inched up in early trade, pulled back as risk aversion ebbed, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said that last Friday, the FBM KLCI managed to reverse its intraday losses to mildly close in the black as investors bargain hunt on selective blue chips.

The research house said the index's primary trend is still firmly positive at this point given the strong support provided by all its key moving averages.

Nonetheless, it said the monotone display over the past weeks is likely to persist over the course of this week given the lacklustre momentum indicators.

"Both the daily RSI and Stochastic are still overbought, suggesting that upside could be limited from here. Besides, the flattish showing of the MACD further suggests that the tepid trade of the FBM KLCI is likely to persist.

"Coupled with the uninspiring close of Wall Street last Friday, we reckon that the FBM KLCI would kick-off the week on a quiet note while we look forward to the upcoming GDP report this week for more inspiration.

"Overhead resistance is seen at 1,784 (R1)/1,800 (R2), while supports are found at 1,760 (S1)/1,743 (S2)," it said.